Riese: Kingdom Falling is an upcoming novel from author Greg Cox and published by Simon & Schuster BFYR. It's also a digital mini-series on SYFY.com, created by Ryan Copple, who is also listed as an author for the novel, and Kaleena Kiff! The novel is releasing June 12th
and I thought it'd be a great idea to watch the series and blog about
each episode until release day. I'm pre-ordering my copy from Amazon so
this is a great opportunity for me and everyone else to get acquainted
with Riese!

Episode 2: Bind

Summary

Riese emerges from the fog of her pain to find herself in a hospital
bed in Helmkin, a doctor leaning over her and telling her that her
battle wound had been attended to, and that she should rest for a bit.
When she tries to get out of bed, the doctor spots the brand on Riese's
shoulder: The symbol of the wolf, marking her as a member of the former
royal family. Riese realizes that this could put her in danger, and
pulls herself together long enough to make her way out of the potential
deathtrap.

But as she wanders down the hallways of the hospital, seeking the
exit, she spies a nursery chock full of babies - many more babies than
would seem possible for this town's meager population. At that moment, a
new mother jumbles out of a holding cell, shrieking that her child has
been stolen, and Riese's doctor, hearing the commotion, steps in and
orders her to be restrained. He turns a concerned eye on Riese and warns
her not to leave her room, but Riese protests that she has to leave.

Just at the gate of Helmkin, she stumbles across two workers loading
boxes into a vehicle. A strange mewling emanates from the boxes, and
Riese realizes that the town is meddling with the fertility of its
female inhabitants. Reminded of her own family, she can't let so many
other families be torn apart, and though her very life is in danger, she
chooses to stay and fight whatever mysterious evil is being perpetrated
in Helmkin.

Whether Helmkin will prove to protect Riese from the hungry bounty
hunter Herrick is uncertain, however, as he and Amara have their own
round of teeth-baring to contest who is really in charge of the kingdom.

Courtesy of SYFY.com

My Thoughts:

Bind begins right where 'The Hunt' ended. Riese has been treated for her injuries at a hospital in Helmkin. In the hospital, she stumbles upon suspicious activity and discovers the heavy presence of The Sect. Here again Riese shows strong character by deciding to stay in Helmkin, even though she knows she's in a town where the people are under the thumb of her enemies.

Riese hasn't shown one ounce of fear yet and it makes the episodes much more exciting. She has Herrick, a powerful and scary magister on her trail and the Empress of Eleysia wants her dead. Even with these threats weighing on her shoulders she makes the decision to find a way to fight against them. In another part of the kingdom, Rand and his band of resisters are hoping to find Riese because they see her as the key to restoration. I hope and pray that they find her because when they do it will be a strong joining of forces.

I'm still curious about the story behind the murder of Riese's family. Both episode one and two have these short flashback-like scenes where Riese is a little girl and we see glimpes of her family. I just feel like there's something to be said about what happened but I don't have enough information to figure it out yet. Once the connection between the characters and their motivations is revealed, I just know I'm going to beat myself up for not seeing it.